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sixothree

Let me introduce you to the developers whose primary machine is a laptop without a mouse. Or a second screen.

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I actually use the touchpad for scrolling even when I’m using a mouse. It’s a much better interface for that purpose.

Now I'm picturing a fat tungsten scrollwheel with a lot of inertia, that keeps spinning after you roll it.

Ha, no second screen, next you will be telling me you made it yourself out of rocks and sand.

To be fair, I am not describing myself. I have 4 monitors across three machines in my office.

We used to have a far better solution for that, the pointer stick on Dell and IBM laptops. Direct control over the cursor without abrading your sweaty dirty finger skin over a frictive surface.

> a far better solution for that, the pointer stick on Dell and IBM laptops.

Please search the web for "trackpoint drift".

I've been a Trackpoint addict for over 20 years, using computers 8+ hours a day. I wouldn't consider any other pointer method. Trackpoint drift is an issue, but it's not really a big problem. A few times a month, it happens for a few seconds, then it works itself out. I have had episodes of cramping, but they've gone away with no long term impact.

It may be that I've become more zen/accepting, because I'm sure a mouse or trackpad can be more precise pointing tools, but it's worth it for the connection. Input is all about the keyboard and mouse, and the proximity just makes so much sense, especially when using vim mode. I could imagine better systems where typing with a keyboard is still the main input, but they would all involve not taking my hands off the home row.

This is not a problem on modern ThinkPads.

> This is not a problem on modern ThinkPads.

Funny, because I see people complaining about it still in 2020 on brand new Thinkpads. See for instance https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/ken18b/does_your_... and the comments saying "They all drift, it's inherent by the sensor design", "It drifts on all my ThinkPads too", "Mine sometimes drifts".

So unless your definition of modern is "ones that haven't been released yet", I think you might be wrong.

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